Entrepreneurship can be a necessity for people with disabilities
This article just showed up in my Facebook feed. While I do not know this family’s backstory, I strongly suspect that the father’s...
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For workers with disabilities, saving for retirement can feel like trying to solve a Rubik's cube...
My younger son likes to play with his Rubik’s Cube. Yes, I mean that same multi-colored cubic puzzle that debuted in the seventies. So...
How does a la carte Traditional Medicare compare to Medicare Advantage, the combo meal?
The question “Do you want fries with that?” has become a shorthand phrase, synonymous with the fast-food industry. So much so that it is...
It's not about special needs, but rather specialized knowledge
One of our four chickens is a rescue hen named Henrietta. She lived the first year or so of her life on an egg farm. It is not uncommon...
What, exactly, is the work I do with clients?
“Could you clarify what it is, exactly, that you do?” Several prospective clients have asked me that recently. It is a welcome question,...
PASS can help people with disabilities invest in themselves
Warren Buffet, the professional and very successful investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, has eight pieces of advice for novice...
Maximizing the Non-financial Benefits of Work
O. Henry’s short story, The Gift of the Magi, tells of a young couple, who have very little money but want to buy each other a worthy...
How Transitioning from Student to Worker Affects Your SSI
This time of year, I work with a lot of clients on their taxes. The economic results of both the pandemic and the relief packages meant...
Impairment Related Work Expenses Can Reduce Countable Income for Social Security eligibility
When I lived in Shanghai back in the 1990s, I, like many other expatriates, received a housing allowance as well as a slightly higher...
Employer Subsidy Helps to Maintain SSI/SSDI Eligibility
As Americans, we are obsessed with dieting and counting food related indicators like calories, sugars, carbs, trans-fats or, for those...
Learn How Earning Will Impact Your SSI and SSDI Benefits
Our family recently re-watched the first of three movies of the series: The Hobbit (directed by Peter Jackson, 2012) in order to...
What Goes into an Individual Work Plan Through the Ticket to Work?
With the shortage of activities due to COVID, my family and I have been playing more board games. Pictionary by Mattel has resurfaced...
New Year's Resolution: Use My Ticket to Work
In a Berkeley Mews comic, the main character is making a list of New Year’s resolutions. He writes the list title and the first item: 1....
Working Enough to Obtain Disability Benefits But Not Too Much to Lose Them.
Most things in life require constant balance. We all know it is good to exercise, but if we take too long at the gym, we will eat into...
The Do's and Don't's of Being a Rep Payee
As a financial planner, I regret to admit that my kids are pretty nonchalant about managing their allowance. But since they are too young...
Transition is More Successful with Careful, Advance Planning
My family members and I are chicken “newbs”. The chicks we bought, last February, and raised in our TV room are full-grown laying hens...
Should Youth with Disabilities Apply for Social Security at Age 18?
I went back to re-watch the first five seasons of “Schitt’s Creek”, when I realized, somewhat belatedly, that Season 6 had been released....
How Murphy's Law Applies to Government Benefits
In keeping with the general atmosphere of 2020, I was researching the origin of Murphy’s Law on a coffee break between clients. We are...
How about "abilities foremost" language?
Last week, my husband and I had lunch with three of our friends, Anna, Franz and their adult daughter, Erika. Erika happens to have Down...
Happy Birthday to You--Your Benefits Came Through!
When you are a kid, you cannot wait to celebrate your next birthday. Besides the party and the cake and, of course, the presents, you...